Referring to Malaysian Nanban’s headline story here. The headline says “If Pakatan becomes federal government, 2nd DPM will be an Indian!”

Not entirely surprising because this comes from opposition which basically trades “dreams and fantasy” according to their fancy.

Few questions or confusions can be seen from this news.

1. It says 2nd DPM will be Indian. Out of how many? Will it be 5 DPMs for the country? ( First in the world? ) Obviously the first DPM will be a Malay candidate, 2nd an Indian? So how about Chinese, Sabahans and Sarawakians?

2.  Opposition says they are against race based politics. If readers remember Pakatan even accused Hindraf  as racist. Refer link . So,how they can given positions according to race?

3. If at all an Indian gets picked up as DPM under many DPMs in Pakatan, will it be as “powerful” as our 2nd DCM in Penang? Has 2nd Deputy Chief Minister post changed anything for Indians in Penang?

4. If at all an Indians gets picked up as DPM under many DPMs in Pakatan, who it will be? Prof Ramasamy? M.Manhoharan?P.Uthayakumar?M.Kulasegaran? Sivakumar? Dying Hindraf leaders? Sivarasah? Xavier?Jayakumar?

Conclusion : Indians leaders in Pakatan are just taking the general public in another joy ride.

Please wake up fellow brothers and sisters;

• Hindraf 5 is no more.
• Even DAP Indians are politically killing each other ( M.Kula got packed up by NgahNgeh tribe backed up one chap from Tronoh ).
• The only Indian who was championing Indians right in PKR (N.Gobala) was swiftly replaced by N.Surendran.

கோலாலம்பூர், ஆகஸ்டு 3- இந்நாட்டில் வாழும் இந்திய சமுதாயத்தின் அசைவிலும் வளர்ச்சியிலும் நங்கூரமாய் ஊன்றியுள்ள ம.இ.கா-வின் செயல்பாடுகளை மேலும் மேம்படுத்த, இதர இந்திய கட்சிகளும் ம.இ.கா-வோடு இணைந்து பணியாற்ற முன்வரவேண்டுமே தவிர, ஒட்டுமொத்த இந்திய சமுதாயத்தின் தாய்க்கட்சியாக விளங்கும் ம.இ.கா-விற்கு மிரட்டல் விடுக்கக் கூடாது என பிரதமர் துறை துணையமைச்சரும், ம.இ.கா தேசிய உதவித்தலைவருமான டத்தோ எஸ்.கே தேவமணி கூறினார்.

64 ஆண்டுகளுக்கும் மேலாக மலேசிய இந்திய சமுதாயத்தோடு அணுக்கமான தொடர்பைக் கொண்டுள்ள ம.இ.க், இன்றளவும் இந்தியர்களின் அரணாக விளங்குகிறது.

சமுதாயத்தின் பிரச்சனைகளைத் தீர்க்க ம.இ.கா எடுக்கும் அனைத்து முயற்சிகளுக்கும் இதர இந்திய கட்சிகளும் ஆதரவு கரம் நீட்ட வேண்டியது அவசியம்.

பல கட்சிகள் அமைத்து பிளவுகளையும், நேரவிரயத்தையும் ஏற்படுத்துவதைத் தவிர்த்து, ம.இ.கா-வோடு இணைந்து பணியாற்றினால், இந்நாட்டில் இந்திய சமுதாயம் எதிர்நோக்கும் பல்வேறு பிரச்சனைகளைக் களைய முடியும் துணையமைச்சர் கூறினார்.

முன்னதாக, இதர இந்திய கட்சிகளை உறுப்புக் கட்சிகளாக இணைத்துக் கொண்டால் நிச்சயமாக தேசிய முன்னணியிலிருந்து வெளியேறுவோம் என ம.இ.கா தேசியத் தலைவர் டத்தோ ஜி.பழனிவேல் திட்டவட்டமாகக் கூறியிருந்தார். டத்தோ ஜி.பழனிவேலுவின் வெளியிட்ட நிலைபாட்டிற்குத் தாம் முழு ஆதரவு தெரிவிப்பதாக தாம் வெளியிட்ட பத்திரிகை அறிக்கையில் டத்தோ எஸ்.கே தேவமணி இவ்வாறு குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தார்.

மலேசிய இந்திய சமுதாயத்தில் ஒரு மறுமலர்ச்சியை ஏற்படுத்துவதை ம.இ.கா தமது தலையாயக் கடமையாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது. இந்த இலக்கை அடைவதற்கு ம.இ.கா பல வழிகளில் செயலாற்றி வருகிறது. இதற்கு ஒற்றுமையே முக்கியக் கருவியாக விளங்குகிறது. “ஒரே கட்சி-ஒரே குரல்” என்ற ரீதியில் செயல்பட்டால் நிச்சயமாக இந்திய சமுதாயத்தில் ஒரு மறுமலர்ச்சியை ஏற்படுத்த முடியும்.

எனவே தேசிய முன்னணியின் ஆதரவுக் கட்சியாக ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்டிருக்கும் இந்தியர் கட்சிகள் சமுதாய நலன் கருதி ம.இ.கா-வுடன் தோழமை பகிர்வுக்கு இசைய வேண்டும் என்றும் கேமரன் மலை நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினருமான டத்தோ எஸ்.கே தேவமணி தமது அறிக்கையில் குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தார்.

Pelbagai masalah moral yang melumuri Penasihat PKR itu telah menyebabkan dua rakan sekutu parti tersebut iaitu PAS dan DAP pening kepala. Mereka memerlukan Anwar tetapi Anwar sendiri banyak masalah.

Justeru bukanlah satu yang menghairankan apabila wujudnya dakwaan bahawa pembangkang kini terutamanya PAS berusaha memancing Ahli Parlimen Gua Musang, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah untuk mengetuai pembangkang bagi menggantikan Anwar.

Pelawaan itu didakwa dilakukan memandangkan majoriti pemimpin-pemimpin pembangkang mungkin semakin yakin bahawa Anwar tidak akan terlepas dalam kes liwat melibatkan pembantu peribadinya Mohd.Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Oleh itu pembangkang perlu mencari alternatif bagi memastikan pakatan mereka tidak kehilangan nakhoda.

Tengku Razaleigh dipilih mungkin kerana berdasarkan rekod bahawa beliau pernah menyatukan pembangkang suatu ketika dulu melalui Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU) dan Barisan Alternatif.

APU melibatkan kerjasama antara Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46) pimpinan beliau dengan PAS, manakala Barisan Alternatif pula melibatkan S46 dengan DAP.

Dua kerjasama berkenaan diwujudkan kerana pada masa itu, PAS dan DAP tidak boleh berada sekapal berbanding sekarang yang sudah boleh tidur satu katil, satu bantal, satu selimut biar pun mimpi berbeza.

Bagaimanapun penulis tidak berhasrat untuk menghuraikan soal kedudukan atau pendirian Tengku Razaleigh, apa yang hendak ditegaskan ialah bagaimana sokongan terhadap Anwar semakin luntur dalam pakatan pembangkang sendiri.

Sememangnya sentimen tidak mahukan Anwar bukanlah baru malahan ia sudah lama wujud terutamanya di kalangan penyokong-penyokong PAS. Mereka merasakan masalah moral Anwar banyak menjejaskan kredibiliti pakatan pembangkang dari semasa ke semasa.

Menurut pengikut PAS mereka sudah letih apabila perlu berhujah setiap masa bagi mempertahankan Anwar dan ini termasuklah kenyataan Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang dan pemimpin kanan itu yang terpaksa ‘bersilat’ bagi membela Anwar dalam isu melibatkan moral ketua pembangkang berkenaan.

Malahan kadang kala dalam tindakan itu, imej PAS sebagai sebuah parti Islam terjejas. Ia termasuklah apabila Abdul Hadi membuat kenyataan bahawa rakaman video tidak boleh menjadi saksi kerana ia adalah ‘besi’.

Kenyataan itu biar pun menggembirakan Anwar dan penyokongnya tetapi menjadi bahan jenaka di kalangan rakyat. PAS dilihat benar-benar tersepit kerana terpaksa berhujah apa sahaja untuk mempertahankan Penasihat PKR tersebut demi kepentingan politik bersama. PAS juga semakin tersepit apabila dilihat terlalu bergantung kepada Anwar demi meraih kuasa sehingga sanggup mengenepikan yang benar itu benar dan yang batil itu batil.

Parti itu berbuat demikian bukan kerana merasakan tidak bersalah tetapi terpaksa melakukan sandiwara politik demi kepentingan pakatan pembangkang.

Bagaimanapun akhirnya, PAS mungkin mula menyedari bahawa Anwar tidak selamanya perlu dibela. Alternatif perlu dicari bagi memastikan tidak berlaku kekosongan jika Anwar terpaksa kembali ke penjara Sungai Buloh.

Oleh itu, mahu tidak mahu demi survival politik pembangkang terutamanya dalam mencapai impian ke Putrajaya, pengganti Anwar perlu dicari.

PAS tidak mahu memilih di kalangan pemimpin DAP untuk menjadi ketua begitu juga DAP mereka sudah pasti sampai kiamat pun tidak akan membenarkan mana-mana pemimpin Pas menjadi ketua pembangkang selagi mereka ada kekuatan. Justeru alternatif di luar pakatan dicari dan Tengku Razaleigh dilihat pemimpin paling layak.

Anwar sudah pastilah kecewa dengan perkembangan ini kerana tidak menyangka bahawa PAS akan mengamalkan politik tikam belakang.

Di hadapan umum, mungkin Anwar dan pemimpin-pemimpin pembangkang lain akan menafikan apa yang sedang berlaku tetapi secara tersirat Anwar sememangnya sudah tidak diperlukan lagi oleh pembangkang.

Tambahan pula, satu kajian baru-baru ini menunjukkan sokongan rakyat termasuklah di kalangan kaum India dan Cina terhadap Anwar semakin merudum di seluruh negara.

Ia ditambah pula dengan jumlah kehadiran ke majlis-majlis ceramah Anwar yang dikatakan merosot teruk. Sokongan yang semakin merosot kepada Anwar juga turut menyeret parti pembangkang yang lain terutamanya PAS.

Semua ini memberikan petunjuk kepada pemimpin-pemimpin pembangkang lain terutamanya PAS bahawa Anwar bukanlah harapan baru mereka, sebaliknya Anwar adalah bebanan yang harus dilepaskan jika pembangkang berhasrat meraih sokongan rakyat.

Apatah lagi berbanding dengan pemimpin-pemimpin pembangkang lain sama ada daripada DAP mahupun PAS tidak pernah berlaku di kalangan mereka yang berhadapan dengan dakwaan masalah moral yang begitu buruk seperti mana dihadapi oleh Anwar.

Semua ini sudah tentulah telah lama berada dalam kotak pemikiran pemimpin-pemimpin pembangkang yang pada mulanya melihat Anwar ‘anugerah Tuhan’ untuk mereka.

Apa pun sudah jelaslah kini bahawa Anwar tidak lagi pemimpin kebal atau ulung dalam pembangkang. Beliau kini perlu bersedia untuk disingkirkan bila-bila masa.

Anwar mungkin akan berusaha untuk menghalang apa yang dirancang itu menjadi kenyataan tetapi ia sekurang-kurangnya memberi isyarat kepada beliau bahawa sudah ada gerakan untuk menyingkirkan beliau daripada menerajui pembangkang.

Hasrat menyingkirkan Anwar itu juga menunjukkan selama ini Pas dan DAP amat memahami sejauh mana kekuatan PKR.

Jika PKR kuat sudah pastilah tidak akan wujud usaha untuk menggantikan Anwar sebagai pemimpin utama pakatan pembangkang tetapi PKR tidak ada apa-apa kekuatan.

Selama ini PKR wujud atas ehsan PAS dan DAP, jika kedua-dua parti itu tidak memberi bantuan sewajarnya, PKR tidak akan ke mana.

Ia termasuklah bersikap baik hati seperti mana ditunjukkan oleh PAS yang sanggup mengorbankan kerusi selamat mereka kepada PKR demi kerakusan ingin berkongsi kuasa, kesudahan PAS pula yang dilihat bagaikan ‘melukut di tepi gantang’ — satu status yang sepatutnya disandang oleh PKR jika dikaji dari segi sejarah parti masing-masing.

Apa pun Anwar kini semakin memahami betapa bahayanya politik tikam belakang — satu amalan politik yang tidak asing lagi bagi beliau sama ada semasa dalam pembangkang atau kerajaan suatu ketika dulu. — Utusan Malaysia.

Pertimbangan permohonan taraf Warganegara Malaysia tertakluk di bawah Perlembagaan Persekutuan di bawah perkara-perkara berikut:

• Perkara 15 : Isteri kepada Warganegara
• Perkara 16:  Mereka yang lahir di Malaysia sebelum tarikh
• Kemerdekaan (sebelum 31 Ogos 1957)
• Perkara 19:  Warga Asing yang telah bermastautin tetap di Malaysia tidak kurang dari 12 tahun.

Sejak 9 April 2009 hingga 15 Julai 2011, YB Menteri Dalam Negeri, Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein telah menimbangkan sebanyak 72,334permohonan Taraf Kewarganegaraan Malaysia. Daripada jumlah tersebut, sebanyak 29,290 permohonan telah diluluskan.

Angka ini adalah merupakan sebahagian daripada KPI Menteri Dalam Negeri di mana sebanyak 219,000 permohonan telah berjaya diselesaikan termasuk 72,334 permohonan Taraf Kewarganegaraan Malaysia, 31,449 permohonan Penduduk Tetap, 108,906 permohonan Daftar Lewat Kelahiran dan 6,311 permohonan di bawah program My-Daftar.

Berkaitan kes Mismah, dakwaan bahawa beliau menjadi warganegara dalam tempoh 4 jam setelah mendapat taraf Penduduk Tetap (atau PR) adalah tidak benar. Rekod menunjukkan bahawa beliau telah mendapat taraf Penduduk Tetap pada 17 Julai 1982. Beliau telah diluluskan Taraf Kewarganegaraan Malaysia pada 31 Januari 2011 di bawah Perkara 19 Perlembagaan Persekutuan selepas 29 tahun memegang taraf Penduduk Tetap Malaysia

Sekian, terima kasih.

Datin Jariah binti Mohd Said

Ketua Pengarah

Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara Malaysia

Kementerian Dalam Negeri

03 Ogos 2011

Sumber : http://tunfaisal.blogspot.com/2011/08/bersihstories-kenyataan-akhbar-penuh.html

THE 65th MIC general assembly at the Putrajaya Convention Centre erupted into a standing ovation for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak when he announced that Datuk G. Palanivel would be made a full minister.

The appointment of the MIC president as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department ended a 35-year-old grievance among the In-dian community that it has only one Cabinet minister.

As Deputy MIC president Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam – the sole Indian minister in the current Cabinet – smiled, party leaders and members mobbed Palanivel to congratulate him.

The moment the focus of the hall shifted to the MIC head, who has held the post of Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minis-ter, Najib was forgotten.

After things quietened down, the Barisan Nasional chief, who opened the assembly, went on to wrap up the event.

Najib also launched the party newsletter MIC Times and the MIC Web TV.

Not since 1976 has the MIC seen two Cabinet ministers.

At that time the two ministers from the MIC were then party president Tan Sri V. Manickavasagam and former deputy president Tan Sri Athi Nahappan.

Tragically, in April that year, just two months after his appointment as full minister, Athi Nahappan died of a heart attack.

Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu took over the No. 2 post in MIC but was not made a minister, purportedly be­­cause his party president objected to his rival’s speedy rise up the ladder.

Manickavasagam became MIC president as a result of the grassroots’ resistance to Tun V.T. Sam-banthan’s style of leadership. As president of the party for 18 years, some felt Sambanthan had overstayed his welcome and wanted change.

Manickavasagam, a former Com-munications Minister, died in 1979 while still in office.

Samy Vellu was made acting president of MIC and remained the president for more than 30 years until December last year, following the MIC’s dismal show in the 12th general election.

The former Works Minister re-mained the sole MIC representative in the Cabinet until his sensational defeat in the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in the 2008 polls.

Dr Subramaniam, a dermatologist by training, took over as the sole MIC representative in the Cabinet after being voted in as Segamat MP and made Human Resources Minister.

On Saturday, Najib fulfilled the Indian’s dream to have two ministers with his announcement that Palanivel too would be in the Ca-binet.

Palanivel is expected to take care of Indian affairs, a major initiative in the light of the upcoming elections that has given importance to the community.

Of the 850,000 Indian voters in the country, nearly 70% live and vote in 56 parliamentary constituencies, and of that, at least 30 constituencies have significant Indian voters of about 20%.

In 2008, this “fixed deposit” that the Barisan Nasional had taken for granted rebelled and voted for the Pakatan Rakyat, largely on a perception that the Indians had been sidelined from mainstream development.

That feeling was further accentuated when a temple in Kampung Jawa, Shah Alam, was demolished just before Deepavali in 2007 and despite the entreaties of worshippers.

The Hindraf revolt of Nov 25 the same year brought together all the strands into an explosive revolt that saw the Indian voters punishing the Barisan and blaming it for all the ills facing the community.

At the just-concluded MIC assembly, Palanivel touched on these ills and urged for immediate government action, saying that the Indian voters would return to the Barisan fold, if the government acted on the problems.

The second ministership for the Indians, as Najib said, is based on an understanding that the MIC delivers the Indian voters in the next polls.

Najib said Palanivel was also made minister as a mark of appreciation for Indian community’s con-tribution to the country’s economy.

The Indian votes, while a minority, is a crucial factor in many state and parliamentary constituencies in the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, as shown in the by-elections in Tenang, Merlimau and Kerdau.

By making many open requests to Najib, on behalf of the Indian community, Palanivel has endeared himself to the delegates and branch chairmen as a “straight talking, no-nonsense” leader.

His battle to keep the party presidency beyond the general election is already half-won.

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/1/focus/9213945&sec=focus

1.Dictionary.com -

Dictionary & Thesaurus

I approached Dictionary with scepticism, since most free dictionary apps are sluggish interfaces to websites. That’s certainly what this looks like, but it works offline, providing speedy access to over a million words and 90,000 thesaurus entries. The app’s search is also reassuringly fast.

2. Dropbox

Dropbox

Dropbox is a great service for syncing documents across multiple devices. The iPad client works like the iPhone one (hardly surprising, since this is a universal app), enabling you to preview many file types and store locally those marked as favourites.

3.Evernote

Evernote

Like Dropbox, Evernote (a free online service for saving ideas—text documents, images, web clips—that you can then access from multiple devices) works like the iPhone version, and benefits from the iPad’s larger screen, which enables you to see and navigate your stored snippets more easily.

4.Feeddler RSS Reader for iPad

Feeddler

Feeddler RSS Reader for iPad is fairly basic as RSS readers go, but once you’ve pointed it at your Google Reader account it’s efficient, stores text offline, enables you to browse by feed, and has a built-in browser so you’re not booted to Safari when you want to visit a link. As with many iPad apps, you get a full-screen view in portrait mode.

5. Ibooks

iBooks

Going head-to-head with Kindle, iBooks is a decent ebook reader, backed by the iBookstore. As you’d expect from Apple the interface is polished (if not quite up to the standards of iPhone app Eucalyptus), and on downloading the app you get a free copy of Winnie the Pooh.

6.IM Lite

iM Lite

Although third-party multi-tasking is coming to iPad this autumn, it’s not here yet, making things tough for instant-messaging fans. However, IM+ Lite enables you to run a number of IM services (including Twitter and Facebook) in a single app, and there’s also a built-in web browser ( my favo for this app! )for checking out links.

7.PaperDesk Lite for iPad

PaperDesk

Effectively a souped-up digital notepad, PaperDesk Lite for iPad enables you to combine typed words, scribbles and audio recordings in user-defined notebooks. Pages can be emailed (typed text is sent along with a copy of the entire page as a PDF), although be mindful that this free version restricts you to three pages per notebook.

8. PCalc Lite

pCal

PCalc Lite‘s existence means the lack of a built-in iPad calculator doesn’t bother us (in fact, we’d love to replace the iPhone Calculator app with PCalc Lite as well). This app is usable and feature-rich – and if you end up wanting more, in-app purchases enable you to bolt on extras from the full PCalc.

9 . Twitterrific for iPad

Twitterrific

The iPad version of Twitterrific reportedly marks a new beginning for the app, which the developers think has become too complicated on iPhone. On iPad, things are more bare-bones, but this ensures Twitterrific is a simple, good-looking and usable Twitter client.

10.The Star Newspaper for iPad

The Star

Last but not least , The Star iPad App. It’s a simple app which provides access to latest stories from The Star!

If I have left out any terrific free app,do list it down in comments section!

MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel said the party “is the single largest party representing the Indians in the Government.

“We are a big party and will object if other Indian parties seek admission into Barisan.”

“How can we allow splinter parties to join Barisan?” he told reporters after the closing of the MIC general assembly here yesterday.

“(But) We have no objections if they seek associate membership or want to be Barisan-friendly parties,” he said.

Palanivel was commenting on a statement by Barisan secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor that MIC is a stumbling block for other Indian parties to join Barisan.

“There is no Malay party other than Umno, no Chinese party other than MCA in Barisan.

“We will open our doors for another Indian party if Umno allows another Malay party to join Barisan,” he said.

Palanivel, who chaired his maiden MIC general assembly, said that MIC would not let go of any of its nine parliamentary and 19 state seats it contested in the 2008 general election.

On whether efforts were made to unite the splinter Indian parties, he said the party was in discussion with certain parties.

“It is their decision and we are not forcing them.

“If they don’t want to join MIC, there is no problem.

But if they join, it will make MIC stronger,” he said, adding that some had expressed their intention to join MIC but he declined to provide details.

On MIC, Palanivel said he had directed the branch chairmen to register 200,000 members who were non-voters.

“We will provide incentives like an iPad or even a trip to visit temples in South India if they register 1,000 voters before the year-end,” he said.

MIC has 600,000 members, of whom 390,000 are registered voters.

Palanivel said the RM800,000 allocation disbursed to the 152 divisions would be used to organise Deepavali parties in October to connect with the people.

“This is the first time we have given out such an allocation.

“We will continue to provide more allocations regularly,” he said.

Earlier in his winding up speech, he said the constructive comments made by the delegates would be discussed in the central working committee.

“I promise that I will work for a better future for the community but it cannot be done overnight … we need time,” he said.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/1/nation/9212819&sec=nation

The use of Facebook and YouTube among local media practitioners in discharging their profesional duties is still low despite the fact that the social networking websites are becoming more and more
popular among the general public.

According to a survey conducted by a public relations company, Intelecasia, and Universiti Teknologi Mara, blogs were the most popular choice among media practitioners in search of alternative views concerning a certain issue.

Intelecasia chief executive officer Manminder Kaur Dhillon said the use of blogs was prominently visible when 68 per cent of 442 journalists and editors from 27 media organisations interviewed said they read more than three times or quite frequently news posted in blogs.

“While the use of social networking sites like YouTube and Facebook are on the rise, the application of the two websites among professional media practitioners (editor and journalistS) in Malaysia is still low.

“Only 37.8 per cent of the 442 respondents in the survey said they use Facebook for professional purposes, while 50.4 per cent of the respondents said they do not use YouTube on regular basis,” she said when presenting the results of her survey on Media Relations Practices 2010, here Friday.

Manminder Kaur said the situation here was different from the West where  media practitioners  make full use of not only blogs, but all social networking websites in search of alternative views and opinions on certain
issues.

She said the survey, which was conducted over five months beginning April, also found that half of the respondents had never used Twitter for their assignments, whether in finding news sources or receiving media invites.

The survey is conducted with the aim of identifying the preferred mode of communications among media practitioners and determining how far would they use social networking websites and alternative media in discharging their professional duties.

However, the Election Commission’s second-in-command Wan Ahmad Wan Omar saw it fit to engage the chairperson of the so-called illegal entity, S Ambiga, in a public debate, which was widely reported.

“Does this mean the EC recognises Bersih 2.0 and considers its demands for free and fair elections worth looking into?” asked MIC central committee member S Vell Paari.

He said this coupled with the fact that Bersih 2.0 leaders were given an audience with the King rendered the coalition a degree of legitimacy and the government should stop demonising the coalition.

“The country is moving away from ‘guided’ democracy and into a democracy in the truest sense of the word. Bersih 2.0′s demands are in line with the latter and must be considered.

“As I said before, the entire episode has been mishandled and BN is feeling the repercussions of this. So it will be wise not to exacebrate the situation,” he added.

Release PSM six

Vell Paari also reiterated his call on the government to release the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) activists held under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) since Bersih 2.0 was now becoming more acceptable.

Yesterday, MIC deputy president and Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam also urged the government to review the detention.

Today, MIC president G Palanivel said he had also told Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to release the six detainees.

Concurring with the party’s top leaders, Vell Paari said the authorities should charge the six in an open court if there was evidence or let them walk free otherwise.

“We should not be seen as using a draconian law which provides for detention without trial to keep our critics behind bars based on unsubstantiated allegations,” he added.

The detention of the six, Vell Paari said, also brought into focus the necessity for outdated legislation such as the EO and Internal Security Act.

“The government must consider repealing these acts as demanded by numerous groups over many years. Such laws give the impression of being convenient tools of suppression,” he added.

The PSM activists under detention are MP for Sungai Siput Dr Michael D Jeyakumar, PSM deputy president M Sarasvathy, central committee members Choo Chon Kai and M Sukumaran, Youth chief R Saratbabu and Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan.

They were arrested in Kepala Batas on June 26 while distributing leaflets calling on the public to support Bersih 2.0′s demands for free and fair elections. The authorities later accused them of waging war against the King.

‘The real threats walk free’

Calling the charge both “extraordinary and unbelievable”, Vell Paari said it was people like Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali and the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia who should be hauled up instead.

“Threatening a repeat of the 1969 racial riots, asking the Chinese to stock up food and making unsubstantiated allegations of a Christian plot are disruptive to the well-being of the nation.

“These people threaten to wage war against the King’s subjects and by extension, attempt to wage war against the ruler himself, who is the protector of all races,” he added.

Similarly, Vell Paari said, the infamous cow-head protest was another example of a serious threat to national security, but those responsible were let off with a slap on the wrist.

“When numerous quarters, including those in the government, can defend Ibrahim, Utusan and the cow-head protesters as merely expressing their views, then the same argument can be used for Bersih 2.0 and the PSM six,” he said.

Vell Paari said the government must understand that the people’s mindset had evolved and should act accordingly.

“They ask the BN component parties to adapt to changing times but how can we do so when we are forced to defend government policies and actions which have not evolved?” he asked.

Responding to a question, the son of former MIC president S Samy Vellu said that the political differences between MIC and PSM did not cloud his view of the present situation.

“We are of different political camps but it does not mean we don’t respect our rivals.

“As far as I am concerned, the honourable doctor has worked hard for the betterment of the country and Indian community, not the other way around as alleged,” he added.

In the 2008 general election, Jeyakumar had defeated Samy Vellu.